Sunday, October 10, 2004

Gallup Survey of IIT;s

Subject: Gallup Survey of IIT's

Following is the copy of the article in IndiaToday in which the extent to which the Alumni can contribute to their Alma mater and how it can make dramatical differences is highlighted.T.S.RamanujamIITM-B.Tech 1969EXCLUSIVE INDIA TODAY- GALLUP SURVEY Of IIT'sMay 13 2002 EngineeringBy Labonita GhoshIIT-Kharagpur has maintained its lead over the other IIT's for two consecutive years with some help fromits alumni.IITians never forget their alma mater. This year, after IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) wraps up its year-long golden jubilee celebrations, India's oldest school for higher technical education might finally get time to acknowledge its "gifts". The one most likely to stand out comes from a group of IIT-KGP's former students, now settled abroad.The newly formed IIT Foundation bequeathed a Rs 30-crore grant for an ambitious networking project: to put all of its 2,700 students online. Last year's expansion plan had installed pcs in every hostel room. This academic year, thanks to NRI patrons like Purnendu Chatterjee and Suhas Patil, students find they cansurf the Net, log into the central library to browse and borrow, and even read texts online from the comfort of their rooms. The foundation has pledged to take care of the academic costs of the first 100 students who qualify in the Joint Entrance Examination. Educationists have always dreamt about a classroom sans walls. At IIT-KGP, this is becoming a reality. Last year, professors teaching 24 of the 26 subjects put their lectures (approximately 200 hours of lessons) on CD."Advances in technology allow us to expose our students to a lot of things not covered in the classroom," says director Amitabha Ghosh. "If a student misses a lecture, he can always catch it on CD later. "This e-learning leap is especially helpful to students interested in subject outside their chosen combinations. Since last year, the institute allows students to mix and match their minor subjects. Students of mechanical engineering, say, can enhance their skills by taking online computer science courses.The institute is also using its infrastructure grants to stay on the cutting edge of technology. An advanced VLSI design laboratory helps budding techies design chips as does the MIT-sponsored media laboratory.A Georgia Tech tie-up will allow students to work summers in the US labs and explore the pre-commercial advantageof inventions. "We believe in giving our students the ambience to foster better and more innovative ideas," says C.S. Kumar ofthe Physics department. There's no doubt about it.